Betting Baltimore-Pittsburgh

Ravens get the nod over the Steelers, who will sorely miss one 'Big' player

Originally Published: November 18, 2012

By Jeff Gold | ESPN Insider

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was miked up on "Inside the NFL" last week. Two things stood out: First, he amazingly OK'd a fake field goal attempt with the Ravens up 41-17. Second, in his postgame address to the team, he said, "Next week: You know who. You know where."

There was no mystery. Headed to Pittsburgh.

The principal characters will be different, though. A Ravens-Steelers game without Ben Roethlisberger and Ray Lewis doesn't seem right. Last year, Roethlisberger played in a Sunday night matchup between these two teams with a broken nose. But there's still plenty of bad blood and talent to make this game a must-watch.

As usual, one of these teams will win the division. In five of the past six seasons (the only exception was 2009), one of these teams has won the AFC North. There is no rivalry in the league that has more intensity or greater significance than the Ravens and Steelers.

The Steelers have been able to fare well without Roehtlisberger in recent years. When he was suspended for four games at the start of the 2010 season, Pittsburgh went 3-1 (its lone loss coming to Baltimore). Last year, Charlie Batch filled in for a game and the Steelers beat the Rams 27-0.

According to ESPN Insider's PickCenter, the public is backing the Ravens at an overwhelming 67.6 percent.There isn't much confidence apparently in Byron Leftwich.

Let's get a pick on the game from Geoff Kulesa of Wunderdog Sports.